Google to better surface in-depth articles

Google is to start turning its search engine attention to longer, more in-depth articles rather than just go for the lowest common denominator.

Understanding that you might need actual information from the internet rather than a quick answer like "What time does the Super Bowl start?" kind of stuff, Google says that over 10 per cent of people are turning to the internet to find articles that take longer than 30 seconds to read.

"Our research indicates perhaps 10 per cent of people’s daily information needs fit this category - topics like stem cell research, happiness and love, to name just a few," says Pandu Nayak, a member of the technical staff on the Google search blog.

So over the next week Google be rolling out a new feature to help you find relevant in-depth articles in the main Google Search results.

The results will be broken out into a separate box titled in-depth articles, and look to promote better articles than just those that give one-word answers.